Paper Nest
by rettevronnoc
Summary: When the whole world's getting dark, sometimes the best thing to do is start fires, no matter how destructive they can be. DracoOFC. Rating for later explicit chapters.


**A/N: **I own nothing except Leonidas, his family, and the plot. HUGE thanks to my more-than-fantastic beta,** Red Dye Number Three**, for helping me plan my entire story out and bouncing ideas around with me. Without her, this story would still be sitting in a Notepad file.

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**Paper Nest**

"I just don't think this is a good idea, that's all," Sirius stated simply, staring out the window. The night sky was tinted a strange, smoky green, dimming the sparkles of the stars above 12 Grimmauld Place.

Lupin sighed, extending his arm to the mantel for support. "But we must remember that Dumbledore trusts the entire family. If anything, that should be enough." The aging werewolf had been trying all night to convince his friends his plan would work. All attempts, however, had faltered, and Remus was really starting to tire.

"Dumbledore has trusted a lot of filthy rats!" Tonks raised her voice, her hair flashing vibrant red.

Remus stood in front of the fire place, leaning over the flames, concentrating on the them as if trying to catch their flicker in time. "James trusted him," he did not raise his voice, but rather, spoke quietly, "and if James trusted him, that's enough for me."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron shrunk back into the darkness of the hallway before removing the Invisibility Cloak. The red-head was the first to speak, "What'dya reckon they're talkin' about?"

"A new member of the Order, of course!"

"Shh!" Harry put his hand up, straining to listen. "I think they just said a name." His ignorance of the subject of the conversation more than angered him; Harry was under the impression he had been brought to 12 Grimmauld Place to help the Order, not to sit in the shadows and spy for information.

"Remus, putting Wickam in this situation cost him his life. This is a _teenager_ we're talking about. If he can't control his emotions at 30, what in the hell makes you think--"

Hermione scrunched her face in confusion. "Teenager?"

A booming voice brought their attention back to the room in front of them. "Putting him in this situation didn't cost him his life, keeping secrets did!" Lupin whipped around, liquid splashing violently out of the cup in his hand and on to the floor. "Had we all been informed, that night--"

"Had we all been informed, we would have, in turn, informed Dumbledore that putting Wickam in a position that required use of his heart, whether meant to be real or pretend, put his life at risk." Sirius crossed to the stressed half-wolf, speaking with pure sincerity as he hugged him, "You cannot blame yourself for that night, Remus. It was _not_ your fault, my dear friend."

"Keeping secrets makes us weak. Keeping secrets makes us vulnerable. As long as everything is known by everyone, we'll be fine. I know Leonidas. I know the family. They're very good at--"

"At lying, Remus," Tonks reasoned, shaking her head as she sat down in an arm chair. "Very good at lying and manipulating people--"

"And they have the most honest hearts of anyone I've ever met besides James Potter himself!" Now Lupin was desperate; if the only way to convince Tonks and Sirius was to relate Leonidas to James, so be it. "I understand you think Leonidas was young and foolish, but you must keep in mind that he was forced to play the most dangerous game a wizard could! And not only that, but for _years_! You must keep in mind that he was forced to make a decision, and despite his love for Kali, he chose us—his friends, his _family_."

"Then why didn't he tell us?" Sirius nearly begged, sitting on the arm of Tonk's chair. He had not been as close to Wickam as James or Remus, but considered himself close enough to have at least been told about his secret.

"To _protect_ us! For God's sake, Sirius, have you forgotten this man was a close friend?"

"No, but I believe you have forgotten that this close friend could have saved a closer friend, had it not been for the interest of his heart!"

This battle had been waging between Sirius and Remus for years. Anytime Sirius brought it up, Remus dismissed it immediately; he knew Sirius felt betrayed by Leonidas, by his cause, by his downfall, but it was simply impossible for Sirius to understand. He had been blinded by his dedication to James—something that kept him going in Azkaban, but pulled him down in the real world, in the current battle.

"And had he intervened, it would have been another boy and another family and a stronger Dark Wizard and nothing would be different--"

"EXCEPT JAMES WOULD BE HERE!"

"THERE'S NO GUARANTEE!"

"What's going on?!" The excitement was too much for Harry. He threw his cloak to Hermione and Ron as he charged into the room, intrigued by the conversation. The mention of his father had more than stirred his interest in this man and his history with the Order.

"How long have you been there, Harry?" Sirius sighed, staring into the fire.

"Too long, no matter if it was 10 seconds or 10 minutes," Remus answered, also turning his attention back to the flames.

"Come with me, Harry. I'll get some tea for you and your friends," Tonk stood and took the boy's arm, leading him down the hallway. In the distance, Remus and Sirius heard Tonks hushing Harry's repeated questions.

"Just like James," the two concluded together, nodding. The pair chuckled upon the arrival of their matching conclusion.

"I know he was a good man," Sirius relented, walking back to the window where he had previously been standing. "I know he had good intentions, and I know he believed in a just cause. I merely fear--"

"History repeating itself. I know. I do, too. But Dumbledore thinks it's necessary."

"When does she arrive?"

Lupin glanced at the clock, "About five minutes."

Nodding, Sirius turned his attention to the clock as well, "1:23. Their favorite time. How old is she now?"

"Sixteen. Harry's age."

"And a typical Wickam, I suppose?"

At this, Remus grinned and pulled out a photo of Leonidas and his daughter. "When have you ever known them not to be? Any genes that enter the Wickam family gene pool don't stand a chance." Sirius joined his friend, smirking at the picture of the little girl in her father's arms, waving at the camera.

"Ice blue eyes."

"As if she stole them from Leonidas' eye sockets. But, no longer, I'm afraid. They've lost their luster since Leonidas died. She does, however, have flat feet like her mother."

Sirius recoiled. "A trait from the other family? How strange."

"Yes, but everything else—the ruthless stubbornness, strong, albeit stupid, heart, trouble-maker spirit—it's all there."

Sirius gave a small chuckle, "Do you remember the time you and James and I sneaked on to the Quidditch pitch at night and shot off all those fireworks with our wands? And when we came down, McGonagall was there with Leonidas?"

Laughing, Remus nodded, "Leonidas told her they were a birthday present, all orchestrated by him!"

"She gave him two month's worth of detention, you know?"

"Yes, I remember." Lupin smiled warmly, sitting down in the chair. "We could have gotten in serious trouble for that."

The old friends fell back into their memories of their youth, vividly recalling the night of the infamous McGonagall fireworks. James had orchestrated the whole thing, even invited Leonidas along. He must have refused so that he could be there to save them from the wrath of McGonagall.

"...Do you think she'll be like him, Remus? Willing to sacrifice herself, like he was?"

"I told you already, Sirius," he sighed fondly, "she's a carbon copy of her father. "

"Remus!" Tonks called from the hall, "The kids've run outside!"

The two men looked at each other before bolting outside, moving as fast as their legs could muster. They nearly ran into Harry, Hermione and Ron, who stood side by side on the sidewalk, watching the wind whip around them. Their clothes gripped their bodies, flapping in the lustrous gusts. No storm was brewing, however; it was merely tornado-esque winds, ripping leaves from trees and uprooting even Sirius, Remus and Tonks from their standing positions. The three stumbled, grasping the fence posts for support.

"What's going on?!" Ron shouted, stumbling into Hermione. The brunette caught him, shaking her head.

"I don't know!"

Before Remus could shout an explanation, a loud pop echoed through the streets, and the wind stopped. A young woman stood in front of the group, Fred and George Weasley on either side of her, both colored an odd shade of green.

"Wow!" The young woman sighed loudly, smiling as she placed one hand on her hip, running the other through her light, golden brown mane. She pulled the long locks back into a pony tail, the shorter strands sloppily slipping out in the front, framing her face. "What a ride, huh? _Still_ messes with my head when I do it."

"That was bloody _awful_." Fred mumbled, clutching his stomach. "I'm gonna lose it!"

George shook his head, staring at the ground. "I can't believe you do that all the time."

"Really?" Nothing but pure and honest shock. "I find it more enjoyable that apparition."

"I don't!" The twins agreed at the same time, looking at each other.

The girl finally looked up and smiled. "Remus!" She ran to him, throwing her arms around him tightly. Lupin smiled.

"Hello, Leonie."

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A/N: I'm sure many of you are like OMG WTF THERE'S NO DRACO UGH LIAR. Be patient, my friends. Reviews would be much appreciated, even if it's as simple as "cool!" or as honest as "this is bullshit." This is the first thing I've written in close to four years, so have mercy.

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